Talons

Chapter 15: The Shift

Rhea’s POV

----Trigger Warning 16+----

Sylvia does not like it when I stay out for too long. She reminds me that it's getting late, and we should return to the packhouse before people are too drunk and too touchy.

I, of course, heed her warning because I have heard horror stories of forced markings and intimacy that were driven by wolf whiskey, and I do not want to risk it, hence the purpose of a minor curfew.

I still have not come into my urges, and I likely never will, so there is no drunk male I want to seduce. This makes my wolf happy in a way because it makes her feel totally in control, but she is near emotionless about other things, except my safety.

We have not shifted yet, and while she cannot wait to show herself, she has told me that she is not as excited as she once was. One of the first things she wanted to do on our first shift was smell the dirt. I am sure that has some wolf significance, but it is just odd to me, then again, Sylvia also thinks that humans have odd behaviors.

Nudity for example, I cannot stand the thought of being naked around anyone, but my wolf thinks that clothing is insane. She can understand the need to stay warm, but she does not see why there are so many variations of what she calls ‘the same thing.’

My wolf and I are chatting as we head back to the packhouse and because I am deep in the conversation of why I think men no longer wear dresses, I am not paying attention, and someone grabs me from behind, dragging me deeper into the woods. I don't need a sense of smell to know who it is; based on the sound of his angry breathing, it could only be Colton, and I am terrified.

I heard he had changed, and after his apology I thought he would leave me alone, but I guess I was wrong. Colton slams me against a tree, knocking the wind out of me. His hand is over my mouth so I cannot scream, and I can only whimper.

"Well, well, well. How did I know you’d be out here watching me?" Colton pinches my face tightly. "Did those glasses help you see everything?"

"I- I didn't see anything," I try to mumble out from behind his hand. Colton's eyes are no longer green, they are dark, and I know that his wolf is trying to take control.

"Are you f*cking yet?" He suddenly asks. I pull in air through my nose and try to scream but he covers my mouth with more force. "Considering how ugly you are, I bet you are still a virgin." I swallow down the lump in my throat. "Don't worry, I won't let you die without feeling my c*ck. As soon as you turn sixteen, I will bend you over and split you in half." I shudder in fear. "Unless you are ready now." Colton's free hand begins to slide up my dress.

I scream as I push him, and I am shocked when my hand comes away bloody. I look at my fingers and my nails have elongated into what looks like claws.

I start to panic as I realize that I just assaulted a future alpha. As backward as it is, by werewolf council decree, attacks against higher ranked wolves can only be justified in near death situations.

I hear someone shouting as they are running toward us, and I know it's because people can smell blood. I stare at Colton, who is staring back at me blankly. We both know that we have started a war. The Iron pack is larger than ours, and while I do not know their fighter count, I do not want to see my brother or any of my relatives injured.

I could stay and tell everyone what happened, but they would never believe me, and I know Colton will never tell the truth. So, I do what I think is right; I run.

I ran without looking back, diving into the lake before doggy paddling my way out and running to my cave. Sylvia is quiet; I am too young to shift, or even partially shift and it must have hurt her to protect me.

My claws are still out, but without my wolf’s guidance, I don't know how to retract them. After a few minutes, Sylvia whispers to me, she sounds tired, no, she sounds sick. She tells me that Colton was going to hurt us, and she didn't have a choice. I promise her that I will not allow her to be executed, we will run away if we have to, and I can feel her relax as she retreats to the back of my mind.

Colton’s POV

As soon as the twins turned eighteen, I knew I was not mated to either of them, and to be honest, I wasn’t even sad. I was, however, afraid of what my father was going to do to me when we returned home.

Orlin and I decide that we should enjoy the rest of the party. I knock back way too many shots as the party starts to pick up, and I begin stalking for the victim who will grace my bed for the next few days; I am that backed up.

I quickly congratulate Robin’s mate. He is of traitor blood, but I also know beta Lukas as a person, and he is perfect for the girl. All in all, the twins are still my friends, and they deserve happiness.

I did not find a willing bedmate within the Claw pack tonight, so I started to leave. I stumble into the woods, almost too drunk to stand when a fist catches me. It’s my father, and I don’t even bother to fight back.

“Didn’t I already tell you there are other ways old man.” I laugh as my body collapses to the ground and my father humiliates me further by reminding me how useless I am.

“I should have kept Dolton. He is a high alpha, and he is the one mated to one of the twins. I don’t even know what I saw in you.”

“Of course you do. You saw my beautiful blonde curls, my handsome smile and my-” my father stomps on my stomach.

“Find your own way back,” he snarls before walking away. I sit up; my wolf is fighting for control and I am reminding him that we cannot attack yet. We need more time, but then we catch sight of the r*tard creeping through the woods. Her giant pink dress makes her stick out like a sore thumb and when she isn’t paying attention, Orlin urges me to grab her.

The annoying little b*tch is always following us, and I think she is trying to cause trouble for my pack, which I cannot have. I won’t allow anyone from the council to ‘oversee’ my pack until an investigation is completed, because I know I will never get my title back and there is no way I could be anyone’s beta.

I push Brain up against a tree, and her dress rides up a little. She may be ugly, but her legs are shapely and perfectly smooth, unlike her blemished face. I feel the wetness from her lips on my hands, and for some reason, I become aroused by it.

I suddenly want to know if r*tarded p*ssy is as good as normal p*ssy, and since I have never been with a virgin before, I figure that she is an easy target. She is so submissive that my mind tells me that as soon as she is of legal age to consent in the were world, I can order her into my bed, and she would do it.

I no longer have to worry about her sisters, because neither one is my mate, and Lark won’t take over as alpha for another three years. He wouldn’t dare approach me about it, because Brain should be feeling her s****l urges, and I will just tell him that she didn’t say no.

"Are you f*cking yet?" Brain whimpers and it sounds erotic to me. I don’t smell her arousal, but she is wearing a scent blocker. "Don't worry, I won't let you die without feeling my c**k. As soon as you turn sixteen, I will bend you over and split you in half." She must be wet, that line has always worked for me. "Unless you are ready now." My hands roam to the edge of her dress wanting to feel her wetness, but she pushes me away with force, more than that she scratched me; deeply.

Blood is oozing from my chest, and I realize that Brain wasn’t turned on at all. She wasn’t whimpering in pleasure; she was afraid of me, no, she was terrified. I look at her hands and see that they have partially shifted.

I feel my knees growing weak because I’m going to be executed. I caused an underage wolf to shift early because I was drunk and horny and could not read her obvious warning signs. The smell of my blood is thick, and people are coming toward us.

I stare at Brain, who is staring at me. It feels like forever passes and then she runs. She is so fast that after a few seconds I don’t even see her. My father is the first to arrive, and I make up a BS lie that a girl I was with got a little too into the act, but the sad part is, people believe me.

Alpha Talons tells someone to see to my injury, and I can’t help but to think of Brain. She is too young to shift, and I hope her wolf is okay. I am disgusted with myself because my actions somehow remind me of my father, and I vow to apologize to the girl the first chance I get.

Brain could have had me killed and my father would have been powerless to stop it, but she chose not to, and for that I am grateful.